Make up

T’was Hallow’s Eve in Dublin and we planned on taking pictures of the decorated houses in our neighborhood… …but realized that painting our faces and scaring children was a significantly better idea. A few photos happened, anyway, between throwing candy, lurking and dropping in on our unsuspecting neighbors (who both just happened to be wearing pig onesies, so…). Also, I did a pretty kick-ass ten-minute job on Gašper’s face using only my Naked palette from Urban Decay: My Reaper look …

It’s been a busy month at Ebb HQ. Technically, I shouldn’t even be writing right now, but if I don’t dump some of these images and words now, they’ll fester. June began with me preparing a presentation about the ghosts of the Moscow Kremlin for an event hosted by Doctor Paul Koudounaris at the Hyperion Tavern here in LA. Initially, I dove into one of my favorite subjects: Russian folklore, but was quickly reminded that it’s actually fairly stingy with …

Last week, Stephanie Inagaki of Miyu Decay launched a new line of jewelry called Noir Filigree and asked me to model some of the pieces for her online store. Time was in limited supply the day of the shoot, but I managed to pull together a vampy look that complemented these gorgeous pieces. By popular demand, I present a step-by-step guide to the dramatic eye make-up that’s key to achieving this dark, glamourous effect. COMPONENTS Mac pressed eye shadow in Contrast Mac pressed …

Here is a lip make up trick I’ve been employing since Ye Darque Ages, which should be useful to anyone who’s ever looked at their eye shadow collection and woefully exclaimed, “Why can’t lipstick come in these colors? I, MAQUILLAGE MASTER, COMMAND IT!”. Though, yes, it could, and does, sort of, the coverage and staying power of these products often leave much to be desired. Which is fine, because it’s ridiculously easy to create your own custom shades and, using …

Continuing the recent red theme, here is a fiery eye shadow look I did over the weekend for the Jessica Joslin opening reception at La Luz De Jesus gallery. At a glance, it’s somewhat similar to the Strung Out look from a earlier this year, but this is actually much warmer and a little more complex. This is a dramatic look that incorporates four different eyeshadow colors, but it’s actually pretty easy to execute. We start out with a bright …

A few years ago, I worked as a professional make-up artist. My passion was for special effects, and every once in a while I get to play with the skills I learned in those days. This year, I was too busy to plan a Halloween costume. Originally I wanted to dress as Pris from Blade Runner, then realized that Hot Topic no longer sells micro-mesh tops and didn’t have enough time to investigate further. Fail. However, since I was going …

No Make-up Week is almost over. Already!? It’s been my most rewarding week of blogging on Biorequiem, and I’m infinitely grateful to Rachel of RabbitWrite for inviting me to participate, and everyone who had the chutzpah to share photos and speak up about their relationship with make-up, even when that meant digging up old fears and nasty experiences. I didn’t expect to have such an honest, raw and thoughtful response, so THANK YOU! Seriously getting verklempt over here. And though …

Today, let us take a break from writing and indulge in a visual feast. In honor of No Make-up Week, I was going to dedicate this post to different types of gorgeous make up artistry out there, but instead I’m giving it all it to Eric Lafforgue. Eric is living one of my dream lives as a full-time photo journalist and his work has been making me swoon ever since I joined Flickr a few years back. In his travels, …

Last week I received this email: Title: I had a girlfriend who penciled in her eyebrows Body: and you would both look a million times better if you didn’t. But then, I’m from a small town and hate the way makeup looks. Au natural! It’s no great surprise that I’d never heard from this person before, but what on earth made them feel comfortable sending me an email like that remains a mystery. I suppose the anonymity of the internet …

Wow! Really amazed at all the make-up histories popping up in the comments of the two NMUW posts here, so far. Many similar tales, and quite a few opposing ones, too. Some peeps grew up hating make-up, some were pressured to wear it by their families, others never really liked it to begin with and don’t much bother with it now. Interesting stories to be found here and here. Also, the ladies over at Auntie Wicked have a write up …

Hello, and welcome to No Make-up Week! NMUW is curated by Rachel over at RabbitWrite.com. Rachel blogs about sex and intimacy, and all sorts of other stuff, too. When she invited me to participate in No Make-up Week, I jumped at the idea. NMUW is all about exploring our relationship with make-up, and as a person who’s worn make-up since the age of twelve and who dedicates a fair portion of her blog to make-up tutorials and advice, it’s not …

I know it’s Saturday and thus an officially unfavorable blorghhging time, but I seem to have gotten sick [again, I know] and must take advantage of a sudden surge of power to write, so! Next week, September 20 – 27 is No Make-up Week. A whole little network of interpeeps will be sharing their thoughts on this subject across the ‘wub, myself included. I also won’t be wearing any make up, which is actually perfectly normal for me these days, …

Q: I’m an albino and it seems nigh on impossible to find a foundation to suit me. I was using the lightest shade by Lorac but I find it’s simply too sheer and I would very much like more coverage. (I’m 37 and my skin hates me.) A: Your skin does not hate you! Might I recommend Lancome’s Ageless Mineralé in Ivory 10 or Ivory 20? Super-light and offer full coverage! Both appear lighter than Bare Escentuals’ Fair, but Lancome …

This edition of Blush Response is brought to you by the lush eye shadows of Aromaleigh [again] and the recent Master and Margarita session of Sketchy’s NYC. I was going for an updated super-vamp look when shooting the promo image for this event, with soft curls, dark, smoky eyes and deep cherry lips. HAIR Separating 2-inch-wide sections, curl with a medium-barrel curling iron Spray each curled section and let cool – I use Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play Once …

Interrogation Station is here to answer questions from YOU. To give it a go, just submit a question through my Formspring page. You can ask anything you like, it doesn’t have to be about style or art. All I request is that you check out my FAQ and previously asked questions beforehand. I can’t guarantee that I’ll get to every single question, but I will certainly try. You can see previous installments of I.S. here. I´m intrigued by the glimpses …